Adjusting A500 floppy drive...

[8bitbubsy]

So, my A500 (which is very clean and functioning!) has got a bad floppy drive... It ALWAYS gives read errors on disks, even when the disks are newly written and read-checked...

It's a
JU-253-033P
MATSUSHITA COMMUNICATION
one...

How can I adjust it? I've cleaned it and its heads, but no go! There is a pot there, what ohm should I adjust it to?

There also are three switches on the back:
One says "0321" (steps), another one says "MO SWZ MS", the last one says "RY SW1 DC"...
The first one is set to 0, the other one to SWZ, the last one to RY...

Any place to buy a new one that fits my A500 rev 6A?

[rkauer]

Those switches are there to set the behaviour of the floppy unit. Don't mess with them.

As for the pot, try moving it slightly to one direction to see if helps.

But from my experience, the problem is in the heads, they worn out with the use and the unit will become "weak" to read the floppy contents (not enough emission).

[Photon]

If the drive is old, buy a replacement. Unfortunately you have an A500, and that is harder. .

There was a guy who sold modded new drives here a month or so ago - he usually hangs out at Amiga.org, I think. But that's you best bet - or mod an A600 drive yourself.

I have some almots unused TEAC drives, but they're all HD unfortunately. And the ones in my spare A500's belong to me I sold my "last" one to Jope...

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by 8bitbubsy

So, my A500 (which is very clean and functioning!) has got a bad floppy drive... It ALWAYS gives read errors on disks, even when the disks are newly written and read-checked...

It's a
JU-253-033P
MATSUSHITA COMMUNICATION
one...

How can I adjust it? I've cleaned it and its heads, but no go! There is a pot there, what ohm should I adjust it to?

There also are three switches on the back:
One says "0321" (steps), another one says "MO SWZ MS", the last one says "RY SW1 DC"...
The first one is set to 0, the other one to SWZ, the last one to RY...

Any place to buy a new one that fits my A500 rev 6A?

There is a way to recalibrate the floppy drives.

First thing is to clean the upper and lower head with a Q-tip cotton bud and isopropyl alcohol to see if that cures the problem, if not...

you can adjust the stepper motor which will correct slight misalignment of the drive. First thing to do is to get a felt tip and mark the location of the stepper motor relative to the casing so you have a beginning reference point. Next is to use a commercial non value floppy that is in good condition.

What you do is to loosen off the 2 screws that hold the stepper motor secure against the case (just enough to be able to rotate the stepper motor slightly). Rotate the stepper motor slightly in small increments while rebooting and testing the floppy for read errors. Go one way and if no luck, go back the other way. i would go no more than 15 degrees either side of the reference start position, if it doesnt read properly in these limits then its probably toast.

Don't use a floppy that has been formatted by that drive as that floppy will also be misaligned!.